Newsletter - 2009 Local Plan Consultation Edition
More Local Plan issues
Southern hillside - Pipelands
For the last 16 years, St Andrews has objected strongly to development on the southern hillside. The “Pipelands” site next to the new hospital is thus appropriate for neither the proposed commercial/ industrial use nor for housing.
Southern hillside - Grange Road site
Elected members of Fife Council very recently threw out development proposals for this site next to Irvine Crescent. We are dismayed that officials should persist in proposing it for housing.
Traffic
As this consultation is based on 1000+ more houses over 20 yrs, more planning on how we cope with the resulting cars would be helpful.
Rail link
As climate change begins to bite, the case for reinstating the rail link to St Andrews can only strengthen. The Structure Plan requires “St Andrews public transport route” to be safeguarded. Fife officials, aiming to push the link on to the back burner, have now omitted the route from the map.
Primary School
Bassaguard
We objected to the proposal in the 2005 Draft Plan to use this site for housing. We welcome the current intention to leave it as employment land.
Craigtoun Park
The options envisaged by the Local Plan include “sensitive, small-scale, commercial, leisure or hotel development”. The Community Council favours better advertising of the park, rather than commercial development.
Green Belt
Instead of fixing the boundaries on environmental grounds, as in the study by David Tyldesley, the proposed Green Belt in the Local Plan consists of those areas where the planners do not wish to put houses in the next 20 years. The proposed Green Belt policy (E17) weakens the Structure Plan policy by exempting classes of development from the rules. The officials’ lack of belief in Green Belts could hardly be more evident. The Community Council wishes the Green Belt to include Langlands (the “western development”) and the southern hillside (including both the Grange Rd and Pipelands sites).
St Leonards Fields/Memorial Hospital site
The Local Plan now gives this site a capacity of 120 houses – compared to 180 in the 2005 Draft Plan when the site was 1.8 hectares smaller. The latest Plan envisages a mix of uses, including a hotel (one of several proposed in this area) and an office development of 1000 sq. metres. The Community Council would like to see the whole site used for housing, particularly affordable housing, as the site is within easy walking distance of the centre.
Phone masts
Policy I6 Telecommunications seeks to “conceal or disguise” installations to minimise their visual impact. This is an instance where health is more important than appearance. Masts should be obvious so that house-buyers, for instance, can take informed decisions on how close they are happy to be.Areas of Great Landscape Value
Fife is proposing to replace the designation “Area of Great Landscape Value” by a new system of Special Landscape Areas - see paras 78 and 79 of the section of the Local Plan headed Safeguarding and Improving the Local Environment. Indications to date are that this will further weaken landscape protection.
Timing
Why do so many consultations coincide with Christmas preparations or summer holidays? It always looks like an attempt to cut the number of responses. Why not write now before you’re too busy!